ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Department of Government Efficiency has completed the on-site portion of its audit of Orange County government and is now turning its attention to the city of Orlando.
State auditors are scheduled to visit Orlando City Hall on Monday to review financial records on several topics.
Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe said she welcomed the auditors to the county this week and ensured they had access to all requested documents.
“We were 100% cooperative,” Uribe said. “These aren’t our dollars, these are taxpayer dollars.”
Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia was outside the Orange County Administration Building Tuesday morning when auditors arrived. He said audits often uncover wasteful spending.
“What we’ve seen traditionally from local governments is they add a lot of fluff and wind up spending things they shouldn’t be spending on,” Ingoglia said.
On Thursday, Ingoglia posted on X, warning that counties and cities under review should not hide “keywords from internet data systems” to withhold information from state auditors.
Uribe said she expects the next 60 days will involve the state reviewing and assessing the documents provided. She also offered advice to Orlando officials ahead of Monday’s audit.
“They are going to look at your spending, your funding, and where you get funding,” Uribe said.
In a letter to the city, the state noted that Orlando’s property tax revenue has increased by about $120 million over the past five years.
Uribe said Orlando residents should view the audit as a step toward greater government transparency.
“If there’s something they can improve on, they’ll improve,” she said. “It’s always about transparency, and we need to move forward with that.”
Auditors from the Florida Department of Government Efficiency are expected to begin their on-site work at City Hall Monday morning.